Duke advances at a price

Blue Devils win ACC tournament game but lose Cooper Flagg, Maliq Brown to injuries

Duke's Kon Knueppel looks to make a play around the defense of Georgia Tech's Duncan Powell (right).

CHARLOTTE – There isn’t much else to cram into the gamut of emotions for Duke’s first game of the ACC tournament.

Duke missing its first 13 3-pointers and matching its largest deficit of the season — those were just in the first half — paled in comparison to the rest of the bad news.

Maliq Brown suffered a left shoulder injury with five minutes left — later ruled a re-dislocation of the same shoulder he injured about a month ago at Virginia.

Not three minutes of game time later, Cooper Flagg skied for a defensive rebound and sprained his left ankle on the landing. He was helped back to the locker room before halftime and didn’t return to the game, though he came back to Duke’s bench in the second half. More on his status can be found here.

The good news — there was some, after all — was Duke’s second-half charge for a 78-70 win over Georgia Tech on Thursday at Spectrum Center.

“Obviously that was a different kind of game for us,” coach Jon Scheyer said. “And, you know, I couldn't be more proud of the heart, the character, the competitiveness of our team. I don't know if we've started off a game 0-for-13 from three. It wasn't going easy for us.”

The next one probably won’t be easy for Duke, either.

Duke (29-3) will play North Carolina in the first semifinal game on Friday night, a rematch against a Tobacco Road foe the Blue Devils beat by 13 on Saturday night.

Maliq Brown walks to Duke's bench with a shoulder injury on Thursday.

All indications are that the Blue Devils will be without the ACC player of the year and their defensive savant of a backup center.

- “It's not about being ready to go tomorrow. That's not the most important thing for us. We've got to see if we can get him right for this run that we can make in the tournament,” Scheyer said of Flagg.

- “Obviously, he's going to miss time no matter what. I mean, this is going to be — is there a chance at some point? I would hope so. But my main concern is just seeing him in such pain. I would hate to speculate without really knowing,” Scheyer said on Brown.

Based on the rest of Thursday’s game and what we know about this team — they’ve got plenty of firepower left.

Duke’s 14th 3-pointer was the first make, from Isaiah Evans. It came after Flagg swatted a vicious block and ignited a fast break. Those were the first three of Evans’ 14 points, and Duke made 7 of 17 3-pointers after that 0-for-baker’s dozen to start.

“Air smells great. You know what I'm saying?” said Evans, a Fayetteville native who played high school basketball in town at North Mecklenburg. “I'm just glad to be back home, glad to put on a show for the home crowd.

“But most importantly, I'm glad just to advance to the next round.”

Isaiah Evans reacts after hitting a 3-pointer against Georgia Tech.

Evans hit another 3-pointer before halftime, which Duke entered down 31-26. That came after the deficit was 26-12 with five minutes left.

Kon Knueppel also had six points at halftime and went above and beyond in the second half, pouring in 22 and finishing with a career-high 28 points. He made 12 of 13 free throws, all in the last five minutes of the game.

He also had eight assists and five rebounds, steadying Duke’s ship with a complete performance.

“For Kon, he plays at a great pace,” Scheyer said. “He has great size, which allows him to score over the top, or pass, and then you surround him with shooting still. You come in with Mason (Gillis) or Isaiah, and Tyrese (Proctor) already, Sion James, and him and Khaman (Maluach) have developed a great two-man game, and I think you saw that.”

Duke scored the first 12 points of the second half to take a lead that it never relinquished. Georgia Tech (17-16) came within three points of the lead twice, and narrowed it to single digits for most of the closing minutes.

But Knueppel at the free-throw line and a Duke offense that rolled up 52 points in the second half was too much for the Yellow Jackets to overcome.

TIP-INS: Maluach scored 14 points, on the receiving end of a few of Knueppel’s lobs, and had a career-best four blocks. … GT got 24 points from Duncan Powell, including six 3-pointers. While Duke was cold to start the game, he drained three in the first 8½ minutes to get the Yellow Jackets an early lead. … Duke’s e-FG clip was 49.2%, its worst since the only other time it has trailed by 14 points this season. That was the N.C. State game on Jan. 27. … UNC beat Wake Forest 68-59 to reach the semifinal round, getting 23 points from RJ Davis.

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Duke advances at a price

Blue Devils win ACC tournament game but lose Cooper Flagg, Maliq Brown to injuries

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